TENNIS – Second seed Carlos Alcaraz put on a show for the crowd with a convincing 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4 win over France’s Arthur Rinderknech in the US Open fourth round yesterday, in his latest demolition job on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz gave fans a fright with a medical timeout due to knee pain in the third round but had no issues yesterday, zipping around the court in the daytime match to extinguish his opponent’s hopes with 36 winners and just 11 unforced errors.
He will next play Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka.
“The energy is special playing the day session, playing the night session, it doesn’t matter,” said the five-times major winner. “That’s why I just play my best tennis here in New York.”
The 2022 champion got the crowd on his side with a behind-the-back shot in the fourth game and put his foot on the gas to pull away in the tiebreak with a pair of exquisite forehand winners and an unreturnable serve.
Alcaraz has yet to drop a set in New York this year and took the opener yesterday as Rinderknech sent one beyond the baseline on set point.
Meanwhile, fourth seed Jessica Pegula walloped fellow American Ann Li to reach the US Open quarter-finals yesterday, while local fans were left to pin all their hopes on Taylor Fritz as the last home hope in the men’s draw.
Last year’s runner-up Pegula did not have the pre-tournament run she wanted, with early exits in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati, but had not dropped a set in New York and swatted Li aside 6-1 6-2 in the first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She next faces either Czech Barbora Krejcikova or American Taylor Townsend in the last eight.
Players enjoyed another afternoon of sunny skies, after Tommy Paul’s Saturday night defeat by Alexander Bublik clouded local fans’ hopes of an end to the 22-year American men’s US Open title drought.
The pressure will be on fourth seed Fritz, runner-up a year ago, when he plays Czech 21st seed Tomas Machac later on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The women’s defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka plays Spain’s Cristina Busca in the final match of the day on Armstrong.
German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff will try to pull off another upset when he faces 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic in the first match in the night session on Ashe, after a confidence-inspiring run through the early rounds
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